Halo: Relentless
by CraftedJets117
Summary: February 11th, 2525 marked the beginning of the Great War between humanity and the covenant. From the first Battle of Harvest to the Battle of Earth, five colleagues must survive the challenges that lie ahead and be prepared for anything that comes their way. Join Red Team and other members of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) as they fight for humanity's survival.
1. Prologue-Act 1: Protectors of Humanity

**PROLOUGE**

 **MARCH 12th, 2536/ LOCATION: BETA HYDRI VI**

'Spartans…Spartans never die.' The thought ran through David's mind as he laid on the ground, unable to move. He felt blood trickle down from his nose. The Spartan had taken a direct hit from a fuel rod wielding elite. David watched his Heads-Up-Display (HUD) flicker.

 _That son of a bitch..._ He thought as he attempted to move. Pain shot through his chest causing David to wince.

David glanced at the marine who laid face down in the mud. He managed to pull up her vitals on his malfunctioning HUD. She was unconscious. The helpless Spartan laid there, his life flashed before his eyes as memoires flooded his brain. Everything around him seemed to slow down when a particular memory came through.

 **September 11** **th** **2517-19 years ago**

"Hey." The girl next to him, lying with her arms behind her head, asked.

David turned to look at her, however she kept her gaze on the stars. "Yeah?"

The girl spoke quietly "Do you ever wonder if there's anyone else out there? Besides us?"

He pondered at the thought for a moment. Ever since humanity first traveled outside the boundaries of the Sol System centuries ago, they haven't encountered any extraterrestrial beings.

"Well, if there is anyone else out there…let's hope their friendly." David replied. His sister nodded slightly and continued to stare at the night sky. The girl had jet black hair tied into a tight bun. On her wrist she wore a bracelet with a small piece of quartz that David had found and gave it to her a few days ago.

"Can I ask you something Ash?" David said as he sat up.

Ash replied "Um sure."

"What are you afraid of?"

There was a short moment of silence and then she finally spoke "Death…I'm afraid of death and I'm afraid of losing you."

 **Present**

"Spartan! Spartan, can you hear me!" A familiar voice said, followed by a short burst of gun fire.

Suddenly David woke up and saw the marine who was lying on the ground, now standing above him. He saw the grey sky above him and noticed his HUD was offline.

"Damn hinge-head." David muttered.

"I'll take that as a yes." The marine replied as she fired a couple rounds at a frightened grunt who was running around waving its plasma pistol in the air. The alien fell and its methane tank erupted causing the grunt's corpse to fly. Dave fought through the pain and managed to stand up. He picked up his Battle Rifle and smacked the side of his helmet a couple times.

"Having trouble?" The marine asked.

The HUD flickered back to life, a rapid beep flared indicating his shields were low. Within seconds the shields flashed and recharged.

"I'm fine."

"Keep doing stunts like that and you'll get us both killed." She muttered.

The Spartan ignored her and checked to see if his COMMS were still working. "Command this is Sierra-one-one-nine come in...Beta Team respond." The radio crackled and a female voice came up "This is…Beta-Two…we're…" The signal vanished. David sighed "Corporal Danis, is your radio working?"

"It's working just fine sir." The woman replied calmly.

"I need you to contact command and tell them of our situation." David ordered.

"Will do." She tapped her helmet COMM "Command this is Corporal Jessica Danis, Castle Squadron reporting in from Camp Jovia." There was a long pause and then the radio came to life.

" _We read you loud and clear Castle, what's your status."_

"Camp Jovia is no longer standing it's been overrun by the covenant. We've suffered some major losses, I estimate casualty rate is at ninety percent for Castle." The Corporal looked down at the ground and shook her head.

 _"_ _Understood corporal…What's the status of Sierra-one-one-nine? His vitals went dark a moment ago."_

Jessica glanced up at the Spartan who had his gun pointing in the direction of the camp scanning the area for covenant.

"He fell unconscious for a few minutes after taking a direct hit from a fuel rod," The corporal smirked "now he looks ready to smash some heads together."

 _"_ _Checkpoint Bravo has been overrun, repeat: Bravo has been overrun, fall back to checkpoint Charlie for evacuation. We'll defend that area until Evac arrives._

"Understood sir, Castle out." Jessica closed the COMM channel and turned to the Spartan. The sun reflected on his golden visor. He stood there, posed with his Battle Rifle on his shoulder.

"Sounds like we've hit a snag." The Spartan said in his deep, yet calm voice.

The corporal nodded "Bravo has been overrun, we're to fall back to Charlie and meet up with what's left of our ground forces and wait for Evac." Checkpoint Charlie was the last line of defense between Camp Jovia and New Lexington. It was Checkpoint Alpha, Camp Jovia, Checkpoint Bravo, Charlie, and then New Lexington itself.

David slung his rifle onto his back and began to move ignoring the fact that he was limping.

"Let's move corporal!"


	2. All legends have a beginning

_I do not own the content of Halo. All rights belong to Microsoft, Bungie, and 343 Studios_

 **ACT 1: PROTECTORS OF HUMANITY**

 **"All legends have a beginning"**

 **SEPTEMBER 24** **th** **2517/ LOCATION: REACH**

A shock of electricity ran through David's body causing him to jolt up with a yelp.

"WAKE UP MAGGOT!" In front of him was a man who appeared to be in his late forties, holding a metallic baton. The other children in the room got up the same way he did. David got out of his cot as fast as he could, causing himself to get dizzy. He opened the chest next to his cot and saw a pair of grey sweats. Labeled in white on the shirt was _David-119._ Suddenly a uniformed man entered the room.

"Listen up recruits!" David and the others turned to look at the instructor. "I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez" The man said. He gestured at the other men in the room "These men and I will be your instructors for as long as you remain here. You will do EXACTLY what I say!

The Chief continued "Your first mission is to wash up in the showers." He pointed to the opposite end of the barracks. "Once you're dressed, you will form up in a shoulder to shoulder formation outside." Mendez said.

He let out a small sigh, folded his hands behind his back, and yelled "DOUBLE TIME IT! LET'S go, GO, GO!"

David and the others sprinted towards the showers. He washed himself in warm soapy water, then finished off with a cold rinse. As he sprinted back to his cot and threw on his shirt and paints, David thought about not being able to see his parents and sister again.

Then David started to jog when a girl behind him called out "Hey your shirts on backwards you know." His face turned red and he stopped to fix his shirt. The girl ran passed him, after he fixed his shirt, David caught up with her.

"The name's Claire by the way." She said as they jogged out of the barracks. Claire held her hand out.

"I'm David, nice to meet you." David said shaking her hand. He noticed her shirt labeled _Claire-116_. Like him and the rest of the children, her head was shaved, the color of her hair was dark brown but to David it looked black. David looked at the others as they ran by to see if he recognized anyone from his neighborhood. He then realized that he was surrounded by strangers. As they finally made their way to the Chief's location and joined the others in line, Mendez spoke "We will start with one-hundred push-ups. Go!" A few of the others groaned.

Seventy-five children dropped to the ground and began. After doing one-hundred push-ups David felt like he was going to throw up, but he held it in and swallowed. He shivered as it went back down.

"Now we do one hundred Jumping Jacks! Double time!" Mendez yelled.

"Ninety-one, ninety-two…" David called out. _Come on don't give up, your almost there._ He made himself go on even though his body couldn't take it. After they finally reached one hundred, David stopped and fell on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. David notice the boy on his left collapsed onto his back. His face was pale and covered in sweat. _Rex-121_ was labeled on the boys' instructor with a baton began to approach the boy. David saw him and immediately grabbed Rex's arm, pulling him up. The instructor scowled and pointed his baton at the two "I'll get you next time boot." Rex stood there speechless. David stuck his tongue out at the instructor when he turned around.

"Nice move." Claire said softly before she turned around and threw up.

David was about to say something until Mendez yelled "One hundred sit-ups!" As the Chief sat on the ground and put his arms around his head, David and the other children groaned and mirrored Mendez's movements. "No slacking!" The chief added.

After doing two sets of sit-ups, they did another set of one hundred jumping jacks. David continued doing this for what felt like hours. Here and there a kid would refuse and get beaten. While David was on his third set of push-ups, a pair of jets flew over. David looked up to see two longsword interceptors split formation over the complex. He then glanced at Mendez. That man was moving like a machine, as if they all were. When they completed the third set, David and the others then moved on to leg lifts, which were followed by hard squats. David threw up, but he knew he had to keep moving.

"Ok, now we rest!" Mendez finally told them. He motioned the other instructors to get something. Moments later they came back with carts full of water and snacks. David grabbed the bottle and chugged it down. He let out a sigh of relief and whipped the sweat off his forehead. His head was pounding and David felt like his veins were about to burst. He watched as the sun rose above the mountain range behind the complex.

After a few minutes of rest Mendez motioned them with a wave of his hand. "Gather around…" He said. David, Claire, Rex and the others formed a circle around the chief.

"I'm proud of what you've accomplished so far. But I'm afraid that is just the beginning of what's to come." Mendez told them. David and Claire glanced at each other while Rex stood there looking like he wanted to cry.

"Now, enough talk. Let's take a little stroll shall we?" Mendez said as he started to jog. As they followed the Chief out of the gate and into the dense forest that surrounded the area, the jog became a ten mile run. Ten minutes in, after passing through the thick forest, Mendez ordered them to triple time it. David, Claire, and Rex forced themselves to sprint as fast as they could in order to keep up with Mendez. They ran through a long tunnel under the mountain range and even ran across a fast-moving river.

After sprinting for what felt like hours, David clutched his side as it began to cramp. He ignored the pain and continued moving. After running for what felt like two hours, a smile came across David's face as he saw the large fences of another UNSC base. This base was larger than the complex they were last at. A marine in the guard tower saw the group approaching and opened the gate with the push of a button. He stared at Mendez and the seventy-five children as they ran through.

Mendez led the group up to a large building at the center of the base. A tall marble sign read _Naval Officer's Academy_. Old Earth naval fighter jets from the 21st century were positioned at the front as if they were guarding the entrance. Those were likely duplicates that were shipped from Earth. Mendez slowed down as he approached a flight of steps and held up a fist. David collapsed onto the ground and breathed heavily. After his breathing slowed down, David got up and noticed there was an A.I standing at the top of the stairs. Her holographic figure was covered in symbols. David stared in awe at the construct as this was his first time seeing one. She took the appearance of a Greek goddess. David remembered learning about Greek mythology from his mother.

"Greetings" The A.I said in her robotic yet smooth voice. "My name is Deja and I will be your teacher." David heard the others groaned, but he stood there and didn't say anything. He enjoyed learning about new things. "Unless you'd like to spend the rest of this wonderful morning with Chief Petty officer Mendez. Then I suggest you come along." She said waving her hand towards the entrance of the academy. David triple timed up the steps and entered the building.

The lobby was split into three corridors: one going left, one going right, and one in the middle. Deja led them into the left corridor, passed three rooms and then entered the fourth room. David rushed to a seat to find a small pile of crackers and a bottle of water on his desk. He scarfed the crackers down and chugged the water, then let out a sigh of relief. David managed to snatch another cracker off a boy's desk when he wasn't looking. The lights dimmed and a holo projector appeared in the center of the room. A tall holographic figure appeared.

"How many of you know about the legendary Battle of Thermopylae?" Deja asked. David recognized the figure, the man held a circular shield in one hand and had a spear in the other. He and a few others raised their hands slowly. She told them the figure was a "Spartan". The Spartan holo transformed into a battle field. David saw three-hundred Spartans highlighted in blue clustered together as the Greek army retreated behind them. The Persian army (which was highlighted in red) charged toward them. Even though the Spartans managed to hold their ground for a long period, most of the Greek army was whipped out. Leaving the Battle of Thermopylae a clean victory for the Persians.

The lights lit the room once again and the holographic display disappeared. "That will be all of today's lesson." Deja said "Now, then report to Chief Mendez outside for your next assignment." David groaned loudly as Deja motioned them to leave. Just like Deja said, the Chief was waiting patiently outside, along with the other instructors.

Mendez nodded at David and the others as they approached him. "Gather around" He said gesturing them too come closer. "All right listen up! Now we head to the playground." The Chief told them. Mendez put his hand on his hips and shouted "DOUBLE-TIME IT RECRUITS!"


	3. Just another mission

**"Just another mission"**

 **FEBRUARY** **11** **th** **2520—0900 hours**

 **LOCATION: 24 MILES -EAST OF REACH NAVAL ACADEMY**

Ten-year-old Spartan trainee, David-119, held up a fist telling his team to halt and he knelt down on the dirt. It was another day in Mendez's boot camp and the Spartan trainees were running another capture the flag exercise. Both teams were tied as the score was five to five. The young boy checked the rounds in his MA5C Assault Rifle, then signaled a girl behind him to move up. She moved quickly with her head low and slid into cover.

"Rex, what's the status of the enemy camp?" David asked through his helmet comms. "Also how far are we from our current position?" He added. Spartan-121, Rex, peeked through his binoculars. All sixteen trainees who were taking part in the match had MA5C Assault Rifles, each loaded with red paint rounds. They impacted hard enough to knock a victim unconscious instead of killing them. He zoomed in on the small camp below his position. In this match it was red team versus blue team as usual, but David was taking point for the red team this time. Blue team had their camp positioned in a small grassy opening within the dense forest.

Nearby, Rex had positioned himself on a cliff that was 1900 yards west of the group. In his binoculars Rex saw five members of Blue team guarding the flag. Both teams were composed of eight, so the other three must've gone searching for Red team's camp.

" _I've got five targets surrounding the objective. I repeat, five targets. Their camp is about a mile, north east of your position."_ Rex reported through his helmet comms.

David looked at Claire, who was positioned behind a rock a few feet ahead of him, and nodded letting her know it was all clear. David then glanced back at the other two members of his team and motioned them to move up. The Red team leader moved up next to Claire.

The team sat in silence for a few moments before Claire spoke up. "So anyone got any ideas?" She asked, keeping her voice down in order to not blow their cover.

"We could have someone cause a distraction?" Another girl suggested. It was Melisa-118. Claire nodded in agreement and turned to David.

David returned the nod. "All right listen up" He said as he set his AR on the ground. David pulled out a piece of paper and began to draw a map of the surrounding area. "Blue team is dug in about a mile north east of our current position." His finger followed a line from a circle (indicating their current position) too an x (which marked the enemy's location).

He pointed to a boy positioned behind a bush. "Elijah you'll be our distraction." David told him.

"What do you need me to do?" The pale skinned boy asked, he sounded nervous when he spoke.

David replied "Get their attention and draw the blues away. Claire and Melisa will provide backup for you in case they start shooting."

"Won't they pick us up on their helmet trackers?" Claire asked.

David smirked and said "Don't worry, I have a trick up my sleeve." Claire rolled her eyes "They don't always work." She retorted.

The team leader sighed "Once we have the flag in site, I want all of you too take off your helmets."

"What?" The others replied in unison. David looked over his shoulder to see Rex kneeling down next to him.

Rex reminded him "You know that's against regulations, taking your helmet off during battle. Mendez will be pissed if he hears about this. But hey I'm game."

"So you want us going in blind?" Elijah said with a worried look on his face.

David pointed in the direction of Blue team's camp and told him "It's only half a mile that way. Plus, they won't be able to detect us on their trackers."

The leader continued "Once you've gotten their attention, Rex and I will go in and take the flag." David glanced at Melisa and Claire. "The moment EJ has lured them out…you know what to do." He then cocked his rifle and said "Alright team let's move out!"

At a fast pace, David and the others moved silently through the woods. Suddenly, David caught a glimpse of the sun's reflection off of the flag pole and signaled his team to halt. He motioned them to take off their helmets. Elijah hesitated at first, then sighed and slowly removed his helmet.

"Ok, Elijah…do your thing." David ordered. Elijah started to make his way towards the camp. As he moved out of sight, David signaled Claire and Melisa to follow Elijah.

"Hey Blues, you suck!" Elijah called out from a distance. Two trainees fired short bursts in Elijah's direction causing him to duck. Clair and Melisa popped out of cover and both fired three rounds at the two trainees, knocking them down. David and Rex rushed in, firing at the rest of the trainees in the camp and neutralizing them.

David rolled onto the ground and grabbed the flag, then said "Alright let's get the hell out of here! Claire inform the others back at camp that we have the package. Rex, EJ, and Melisa I want you three to go ahead and scout the area that we came from."

"Roger!" The three said in unison and they sprinted into the woods. David turned to face Claire who had a worried look on her face. "I'm not getting any response from camp."

David cursed under his breath and said "Let's move and hopefully we'll run into the remaining members of Blue Team." Claire nodded and the two began the long run back.

* * *

 **FEBRUARY** **11** **th** **, 2520—1500 hours**

 **LOCATION: UNSC Naval Officers Academy, Reach**

Deja observed the class room and noticed two seats were empty, she raised a holographic eyebrow. "Where are trainees 119 and 116?" She asked the young Spartans. A few of them exchanged looks and then one of them raised their hand.

"Yes John?" Deja asked.

"David is currently with Doctor Halsey. Claire went to go check on him…ma'am. Things got a bit rough in our match earlier this morning." John-117 replied.

Deja nodded and opened her mouth to speak when David and Claire entered the room. "Sorry we're late ma'am, Doctor Halsey held me up." A scar covered David's left cheek, which he got from fighting John in hand-to-hand combat during capture the flag. Deja nodded in understanding, and motioned them to have a seat. She then went back to teaching her lesson on twentieth century military tactics that were used in an Old Earth war. John glanced over at David who sat in the back on the left side of the room. He raised an eyebrow and gave him a slight nod. David knew that was an "are you alright?" type of look and returned the gesture. Another hour past and Deja finally dismissed them.

* * *

Each day had a similar schedule. The Spartans would wake up, do their early morning workout routine with Mendez, then whatever training exercise Mendez had planned. After that they would then move onto to Deja's lessons which would last up to an hour or two. Finally, the day ended with another workout routine along with combat training. Ever since he arrived on Reach, all David wanted to do was be stronger than the others.

Since last year, David had started a routine where he would wake up at 0400 and go to the gym with Chief Mendez before it was time for the others to wake up. Like the other trainees, David saw Mendez as a father-figure.

"Sir?" David asked the Chief.

"Yes trainee?" Mendez replied, he showed almost little emotion when he spoke.

"What will we be going up against when our training is complete?" He said as they approached the gate to the compound. David and Chief Mendez had just returned from another session at the gym.

He showed put his hand on the scanner. When the guard noticed him, he saluted and opened the gate. "You will be going up against the Insurrectionists." Mendez said as they entered the compound. He continued "These terrorists will do anything in their power to see all of us dead. This war has been going on for decades, and it needs to be stopped before more innocent lives are lost."

Mendez turned to face David and said "You and the other Spartans are our only hope of winning this war."

David nodded "I understand sir." He told him.

"Good. Now let's double-time it back to the barracks trainee. The others will be waking up soon."


End file.
